Picking on international students will only damage Britain

Talking tough on immigration may please the Tories but a strict monitoring system may stop overseas students coming

'International students contribute £14bn a year to the economy, according to Migration Matters. But last year their numbers plummeted from 239,000 to 197,000 – this alone would cost the economy £725m.' Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

At this time of year, many students are beginning their university life with the common worries about leaving home, about money, and their new independence. One thing they won't need to question, though, is feeling valued by the institutions themselves, to whom they will be worth thousands of pounds in tuition fees.

The cause of their dissatisfaction is a stringent attendance monitoring system imposed by many universities, which requires them to sign in, up to three times a week, at their university office. It has been introduced amid the general anti-immigration hysteria, in order to clamp down on "bogus" overseas students, but has left many students – the overwhelming majority of whom are here for genuine study – feeling as if they are looked upon as visa cheats.

London-based student Mostafa Rajaai is starting the third year of his BA. He calls it a "racist and degrading" way to prove he is attending classes. When the 20-year-old Iranian student came to England his aim was to study photography at the University of the Arts London, but soon found coming here a harassment with the weekly sign-in system. "If I knew that was the situation, I wouldn't have come in the first place, and would tell others back home to think twice," he said.

While it is understandable that universities would not want to lose their licence to recruit international students, these intrusive attendance procedures are humiliating for students whose intentions are being questioned.

Under changes to the visa system the UK Border Agency told universities to report any students "who have missed 10 consecutive expected contacts". But universities have chosen different ways to interpret this directive. While some, such as the University of East London, simply de-register students who have missed three compulsory elements of a module, others, such as the University of the Arts London and the University of Glamorgan, expect students to sign in once a week – and Coventry University three times a week.

As an overseas student, I have had to register at my university office during its working hours – even if it clashes with my lectures – otherwise I receive a warning letter that I may face deportation.

Though signing in may not seem like a big deal, the office isn't necessarily open at the hours we are at university. While I do not have an issue with monitoring attendance during class, sign-ins are not only inconvenient but also make us feel under permanent suspicion, unwanted even. And why should we be the only ones targeted: don't British and EU students also have the duty to attend classes? It feels like discrimination.

We do not pay thousands of pounds to be treated like we are on probation. And this constant tussle between universities, the Home Office and the UKBA, where we get blamed, is ultimately damaging Britain's image around the world as a welcoming educational destination.

Even American, Australian, Canadian and Russian students have to face the same inconvenience, dividing students into locals and outsiders. American student Nina Reschovsky told me: "It seems unfair. I not only have to pay much higher tuition rates, but I also have to check in every week. It feels demeaning and discriminatory."

And this goes beyond a PR problem for Britain. International students contribute a massive amount to the economy – £14bn a year, according to Migration Matters. But last year their numbers plummeted from 239,000 to 197,000 – this alone would cost the economy £725m.

And this drop is likely to continue while those from overseas feel like second-class students, living in fear of being deported. Meanwhile prospective ones will wonder whether, in the current climate of suspicion and mistrust, it is worth coming to the UK at all.

The home secretary, Theresa May, may feel that talking tough on immigration, and imposing humiliating clampdowns, will give her party a boost in the polls. But she should realise that this gain will only be short term – because if this trend continues, ultimately, Britain will be the loser.